Since popular religious apologists are in the job of saving souls, it is understandable that they use whatever tools are available to them to persuade their audiences. Torture having become unfashionable with the rise of humanism (religious and nonreligious alike), popular religious apologists now turn to the next best thing--arguments which play upon the audience's desires. One can still effectively terrorize without displaying the thumbscrews.
Internationally renowned philosopher and atheist Antony Flew dispells those rumors all over the net that he has abandoned atheism and become a believer in God. We also republish his famous 1950 essay "Theology and Falsification" with a new preface by Flew. [Editor's note: This article no longer represents Flew's current position. For the most recent information, see
Antony Flew Considers God...Sort Of.]
Here is a poem, of sorts, that extols the virtues of the one god I
believe in.
We are shocked by the conviction for blasphemy, and the award of the death penalty, to Dr. Yunis Shaikh on 18 August 2001 in Pakistan. Read about it and take action now!
How would the religious community react if Congress was to pass legislation requiring churches and other houses of worship to comply with
the same laws that they want to apply to the public?
Nobody really believes in the Ten Commandments of Moses. Most of us can't
even remember them, let alone name the punishments for breaking them. If
we did know, we would all turn away in disgust and look for a more civilized
guide for morality.
What disturbs me most about this event is not what the girl said about
me, but what she said about herself -- that she "used to be a bad person," but now that she accepts Jesus, she's suddenly "good."
I guess that everybody has read
Huckleberry Finn, but I find few who have read Twain's
Letters From the Earth, a book that is filled with his observations on something that we call
"religion." That book made my summer a few years back.
How do you respond to a philosophy that seems to be based on the premise of
"the truth can't possibly be found with those that disagree with me
"? Well, in May 2001, Dr. David Noebel, of Summit Ministries and co-author of a new book with Tim LaHaye (of "Left Behind" fame), appeared on a local
Colorado Springs Christian radio program and gave all of the indications that he utilizes just such reasoning.
The ability to hate is an undeniable trait of humankind. Although we often hear that Christian "love" can overcome all the failings we possess, in 2000 years it hasn't happened. Instead, the Bible seems to intensify a believer's own proclivities.
At the next resurrection of the new moon, stop and look up at that cosmic phenomenon with a new eye, and a new appreciation for all that moon-glow has contributed to your religious beliefs.
How individual members of Christian fundamentalism define "Humanism" depends on where they are on a scale of 1 to 10 of brain malfunction.
I would suggest that those mindlessly waving banners in the streets read some church history, and take time to reflect on the hypocrisy of their position. If they want to say simply, "I am against abortion" and let it go at that, fine. But in the name of all that is truth, and all that is sacred, let them stop using the bloody hands of Moses and the Church for their justification.
Bush Administration Scheme Could Prompt Lawsuit, Church-State Watchdog Group Says
Carrier discusses several Jewish laws regarding burial in first century Palestine that illuminate the Gospel stories, revealing that perhaps, by law, Jesus had to be taken down Friday night, and had to be buried in a special graveyard reserved for criminals Saturday night. Also discussed are some examples of the "third day" motif in Jewish law and tradition.
President George W. Bush's new "values campaign" is the latest evidence of
an administration that is determined to merge religion and government,
according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Jende Huang attended a two-week Christian Apologetics training session at Summit Ministries, under Doc Noebel, and gives a very revealing report on what went on. See what's brewing in the trenches of the culture war.
It is long overdue that people who do not believe in any god are elected to significant political office. Atheists must start electing some of their own, and Eddie Tabash, the only admitted atheist to run for political office in 2000, describes what is necessary for this to happen, and how we need to overcome crippling assumptions and prejudices and start getting politically savvy, just as the Christian Right has done.
Get your shirt now while supplies last! There's a discount for the early birds.
Read the update, including a sneak preview of what the shirts will look like.
Read about the new, up and coming, official, Internet Infidels T-shirt!
Minnesota's own intrepid secular
humanist, Rod Sheffer had a letter to the editor published in the Brainerd
Daily Dispatch, defending secular humanism. On June 17, a reader
from Deerwood, MN, responded with some outrageous attacks on secular humanism,
including the charge that it sponsors or sanctions genocide. Sally Morem,
President of the Humanists of Minnesota, wrote this reply.
An atheist reflects on his views with a grab bag of lymericks and short verse.
What if the Gospels had been written by men who had actually seen Jesus and others perform his miracles, and repeated them themselves? The author looks to ancient China and the Daoist alchemists in a comparative analysis of miracle workers like Jesus.
A key component of President George W. Bush's "faith-based initiative"
cleared the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday, and the plan is now
headed for a vote in the full House, despite its serious church-state flaws.
If you could do something to bring about World Peace, wouldn’t you want to try?
Both men, Jefferson and Adams, had total contempt for the Christian church and Christianity in general. I have often wondered why no teacher has the guts to teach these facts in our public schools?
Is life pointless? Why should the atheist bother? It's all just going to end anyway, right? Answers enclosed.
A short fiction story about a student's attempt to begin a freethought club on his high school campus.
Some irrational beliefs in several different religions are discussed, specific examples of such irrationalism are given, and a plea is made for considering conventional beliefs rationally.
